CHAPTER II – COMPARATIVE POLICE SYSTEM

I – Theories of Comparative Policing

Schneider (2001) summarizes the various theories that exist with empirical
support:
The first theory, which might be called the alertness to crime theory. Is that as a
nation develops, people’s alertness to crime is heightened. They report more crime to
police and demand the police to become more effective in solving crime problems.
The second theory, which might be called the economic or migration theory, is
that crime everywhere is the result of unrestrained migration and overpopulation in
urban areas such as ghettos and slums.
The third theory, opportunity theory, is that long with higher standards of living,
victims become more careless of their belongings, and opportunities for committing
crime multiply.
The fourth theory, called demographic theory, is based on the event when a
greater number of children are being born. As these baby booms grow up, delinquent
subcultures develop out of the adolescent identity crisis.
A fifth theory, deprivation theory, holds that progress comes along with rising
expectations. People at the bottom develop unrealistic expectations while people at the
top don’t see themselves rising fast enough.
A sixth theory, modernization theory, sees the problem as society becoming too
complex.
A seventh theory, the theory of anomie and synomie (the latter being term
referring to social cohesion on values), suggest that progressive lifestyle and norms
result in the disintegration of older norms that once held people together (anomie)

Comparative Law Enforcement

After we have discussed the effect of globalization and the Interpol’s role in
policing the world, let us now look into some police system and models which their
methods can be adopted in our won system for effective modern day policing.

Societal Type of Police System

Folk- Communal Society – has little codification of law, no specialization among
police, and a system of punishment that just let things go for a while without attention
until things become too much, and then harsh, barbaric punishment is resorted to.
Classic examples include the early Roman gentiles, African and Middle Eastern tribes,
and Puritan settlements in North America.
Urban-commercial society – has civil law (some standards and customs are
written down), specialized police forces (some for religious offices, others for enforcing
the King’s law), and punishment is inconsistent, sometimes harsh.

Types of Police Systems

It is the consensus of experts that there are four types of criminal justice systems
in the world:
a. Common law system are also known as Anglo-American Justice, and exist
in most English- speaking countries of the world, such as U.S., England,
Australia, and New Zealand. They are distinguished by a strong adversarial
system are distinctive in the significance they attach to precedent. They
primarily rely upon oral system of evidence in which the public trial is a main
focal point.
b. Civil Law System are also known as Continental Justice or Romano-
Germanic justice, and practiced throughout most of the European Union as
well as elsewhere, in places such as Sweden, Germany, France, and Japan.
They are distinguished by a strong inquisitorial system where less right is
granted to be accused, and the written law is taken as gospel and subject to
little interpretation.
c. Socialist System is also known as Marxist – Leminist justice, and exist in
many places, such as Africa and Asia, where there had been a Communist
revolution or the remnants of one. They are distinguished by procedures
designed to rehabilitate or retrain people into fulfilling their responsibilities to
the state.
d. Islamic System is also known as Muslim or Arabic justice, and derive all their
procedures and practices from interpretation of the Koran. There are
exceptions, however, various tribes are descendants of the ancient Greeks
and practice Ufff law rather that the harsher Shariah punishments.

This classifies all 185 nations in the world. It is important to compare nations
that have similar legal traditions because crimes may not be defined the
same. Interpol and the U.N. have dealt with this problem for years. Even
something as simple as murder is defined differently by different nations. In
some countries, crime data is based on offenses known to police, and in other
countries (such as Central Africa) do not even collect crime statistics. In other
countries (mostly socialist ones), crime statistics are collected, but the data
are classified. It is also difficult to compare punishments, since in some
countries the family members of the offensive are punished, and the range of
punishments includes such things as stoning and mutilation.

Each Type of System

Common, Civil, Socialist, Islamic – has local variation. Even in English –
speaking countries, for example, there is variation. Canadian justice places
more emphasis upon the right to a fair trial, free from prejudicial publicity. In
Canada, the public and the media are usually banned from the courtroom,
and there is little interest in crime news. In England there is more emphasis
upon fairness in sentencing and making sure the guilty punishment. English
police dossiers along with two types of lawyers and two types of courts help
ensure this.
Police System vs. Criminal Justice System
With these influences of societal systems, Police system and Criminal
Justice System around the world varies depending on the kind of legal
system. With the exceptions of Japan and the Common Law nations, few
countries hold their police officers accountable for violations of civil rights. In
Socialist and Islamic countries, the police hold enormous political and
religious powers. In fact, in such places, crime is always seen as political
crime or co - occurring religious problem.
Comparative Court System
Court system of the world are of two types:
Adversarial where the accused is innocent until proven guilty. The U.S.
adversarial system is unique in the world. No other nation, not even the U.K.,
places as much emphasis upon determination of factual guilt in the courtroom
as the U.S. does.
Inquisitorial where the accused is guilty until proven innocent or mitigated,
have more secret procedures. Outside the U.S., most trials are concerned
with legal guilt where everyone knows the offender did it, and the purposes is
to get the offender to apologize, own up to their responsibility, argue for
mercy, or suggest an appropriate sentence for themselves.
Comparative Juvenile Justice System
Juvenile Justice Systems varies widely. Scotland has the toughest
system, regularly sentencing Juveniles to harsh boot camps with a strict
military regimen and forced labor. Germany has a juvenile justice system
similar to the U.S., where more emphasis is upon education as punishment.
MODERNIZATION vs. COLONIZATION
The idea that technology produces common effects tend to make all
nations increasingly similar is the modernization thesis (Shelly 1981). In this
view, the developing countries are destined to go through the same crime and
control patterns as the developed nations have gone through. This pattern
mainly involves a skyrocketing increase in property crime, the hallmark of
industrial society. It also involves more female emancipation, and certain
problems arise from this, not the least of which is a backlash of male violence.
The implication of the modernization thesis is that developed countries, like
the U.S., ought to reach out, and help developing countries manage or
regulate the inevitable stages they will have to go through.
Opposed to this idea is the underdevelopment, or colonization thesis
(Summer 1982) which that it is the more advanced. Corporations, for
example, are allowed to pillage raw materials and resources in the third world.
Likewise, most of the developed nations do not engage in free trade instead,
they subsidize their farmers and producers at home, prohibit the import of
cheap, foreign-made products and make their money by saturating foreign
markets with luxury goods that create a sense of rising expectations or
unreachable aspirations in the Third World.